E-350 4WD Battery change-out Procedure

[patrick51]

I have read the battery posts but nedd advice.
I am replacing the AMG house battery on my 07 Ford RB50. I have 2 solar panels and the Blue Sky controller and of course a seperator. I cannot seem to find a main fuse panel fuse to shut down the electric panel before putting a wrench to the AMG terminals.
Can anyone give me guidance on a 1,2,3 step approach before I disconnect the house battery?
I have it lowered and ready to remove I just don't want to reset or involve the solar controller if I don't have to.

Thanks, Pat ...... In the middle of the driveway...... Saturday

[jage]

Off the top of my head:

Disconnect the separator so that it can't closes, basically by removing the negative for the switch (a small ground wire). If you want to be extra careful you can pull one of the major + wires and wrap the end in electrical tape to ensure it doesn't contact anything (one wrap is enough as you're not driving around, it won't be rubbing on anything etc.)

Second, turn everything off. Pull minor fuses. This isn't absolutely necessary in my opinion, but helps protect the equipment. More importantly it will prevent sparks when reattaching the negative later.

Disconnect the negative cable from the battery. You can check if you have a draw by tapping or brushing and looking for a spark. Careful, as my Xantrex KEPT turning itself on... about 3 seconds after having no draw, I'd get a draw because the Xantrex was back on.

Once the negative is disconnected from the battery, the positive is essentially dead, so you can hit the frame with your wrench (or knuckles) when disconnecting. Of course be careful not to bridge the terminals on the actual battery.

Last be careful when moving the battery out, especially if frame clearance is an issue...

Reconnect in reverse order, positive first, then negative.

Hope this helps, I'm sure someone will clear up any omissions or mistakes, hopefully before you turn something into slag.

[patrick51]

Thanks got-it! I disconnected the starter battery first to play it safe. The seperator did click about 3 times after the neg. was removed from the house battery then quite. No sparks of slag so all looks good. I will let ya know about the new one as I see literature for Deka in the SMB manual and they are in PA. so perhaps I can make a road trip in the Toyota and save freight.
P.

[BroncoHauler]

Originally Posted by patrick51

Thanks got-it! I disconnected the starter battery first to play it safe. The seperator did click about 3 times after the neg. was removed from the house battery then quite. No sparks of slag so all looks good. I will let ya know about the new one as I see literature for Deka in the SMB manual and they are in PA. so perhaps I can make a road trip in the Toyota and save freight.
P.

FWIW, I heard great things about Deka.

[jage]

I bought Deka, got the recommendation from John K. himself. Word to the wise they are 1/4" wider at the bottom. The Lifeline are smaller at the bottom, s.t. the bottom dimension doesn't match the actual width. The Deka on the other hand are the same width all the way down.

[patrick51]

Yes, I chk'd locally today and the counterman said they had 7 in stock in Exide, which is a good old brand. He went on to say that all those group 4D's were the same size.... of course I am the original skeptic, so I said I would be in tomorrow w/ the tape measure before buying. Also I wonder about the post type, because the Deka sheet shows ours as optional!
Anyway 153$ plus the core. That seems low to me but????? Anyone bought one lately?